


At the Foundations

by sophinisba



Series: From the Honolulu Heights Guestbook [2]
Category: Being Human, Merlin (BBC)
Genre: Character of Color, Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Confined/Caged, Crossover, Female Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-15
Updated: 2011-03-15
Packaged: 2017-10-17 00:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/170780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophinisba/pseuds/sophinisba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No, you can't.  I won't go down there.  I can't go in a cage again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the Foundations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kaizoku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaizoku/gifts).



> No major spoilers, but takes place around the middle of Being Human season 3 and refers to Merlin season 2.

"No, you can't. I won't go down there. I can't go in a cage again." She wouldn't even stand near the stairs to the basement, pulled back to the lobby and curled up on the sofa with her arms around her knees. Annie knew the feeling.

"Freya," said Nina, "you need to stay calm. George and I have done this lots of times. It's just for a few hours, really no big deal." Nina had a good voice for a nurse, Annie thought, very calm and soothing, though it was a good thing Freya wasn't looking too closely, with the way Nina was rolling her eyes.

"Listen," said George, in the manner of someone who would give her a hug if she didn't look quite so terrified. "You've been through some bad stuff before. That doesn't mean _all_ cages have to be bad."

"Cages can be what keeps you safe," said Mitchell. "Annie and I spent the last full moon inside a cage with four werewolves outside, trying to break in and kill me."

" _That_ was a bad cage," George said quickly, as Freya started to shake. Annie swatted at Mitchell's arm as George continued, "And that happened because someone wanted to hurt us, but see, I got this cage so Nina and I can go on with our lives without anybody getting hurt."

"Isn't that what you want too, Freya?" said Nina. "That's all we want, is to help you."

"Anyway," said George, "it doesn't have to be scary, or even sad. There's all kinds – some people put each other in cages just for fun!"

Freya looked puzzled and Annie mouthed, "It's a sex thing." Freya covered her face with her hands.

"Look," said Nina, gently pulling at her wrist and meeting her eyes, "we're not gonna try and convince you it's fun. It's just something you…it's part of who we are now, and we've got to live with it. I wasn't happy about it at first either."

"It's different for you though," said Mitchell, and Nina glared at him. "Freya, when you transform, you're the bastet, but you're still you, aren't you?"

She looked at him.

"You've hurt people. You've killed people."

"Yes."

"And you remember it all, don't you?"

"Every moment."

"That's why you don't get it," said Mitchell, looking to George and Nina. "We can't put it away, like it's just a few hours that happened to someone else. It's _us_ , and we have to _live_ with it, every fucking –"

"All right, thank you, Mitchell. Obviously, we know you feel bad," said Annie, and she smiled at Nina, who wasn't even trying to hide her impatience now. "But you see, Freya, that's what everyone here has in common, whether the killer is you or something else that lives inside you, whether or not it's under your control. Someone put a curse on you, you said?"

Freya nodded.

"And that wasn't your fault," said Nina, "but it is your responsibility now. There's just no getting away from that."

"That's why we want you to stay with us," said Annie. "At least until you figure out how to get this under control and live with it on your own. You can do this, love. We can't stop you from changing, but we can stop you from hurting anyone. I know that's what you want."

*

Freya insisted on going down alone and locking the cage herself – she'd be able to let herself out once she got her own hands back, she said. She didn't want anyone to see her.

But when Annie jumped down to the basement and sat beside her in the cage, Freya didn't tell her to leave.

"I brought some books," Annie said. "I could read to you if you like. We've got…let's see, _The Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague_ , _Le Morte d'Arthur_ , and, um, _Twilight: New Moon_. That's the second in the series, but I can catch you up if you haven't read the first. Oh, and then sometimes when I can't concentrate that hard I just page through this –"

"Annie, how did you die? Is it true it was someone you loved?"

"Ohhh… Oh, but that's a bit of a depressing story, isn't it? Why don't I tell you about Bella instead?"

"I didn't think anyone would understand," said Freya. "I still don't – I mean, the last person I was with, he was sure he was just like me, but he didn't know anything, not really. And with you, the four of you, it's different. Because none of you are quite like me but then, you're not like each other either, and you still…you still help each other get through it."

Annie set down the books and came to sit close to her, clasping her hand. "Yes," she said. "Yes, that's exactly what we do."

Freya smiled and then let go with a shudder. She shut her eyes and stretched forward, bracing herself with her hands on the floor. "It's coming," she warned.

"I know," said Annie. "I won't leave. You'll still be you, and I'll be right here."

  


**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] From the Honolulu Heights Guestbook](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9257879) by [sophinisba](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophinisba/pseuds/sophinisba)




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